ANZ Bank attractive to Chinese strategic buyer?

An Australian who recently retired as head of Standard Chartered’s business in China believes there’s a strong chance of a major Chinese lender picking up a cornerstone stake in one of Oz’s big four banks within a few years. The Age carried an interview with Mike Pratt, , who says it’s “highly possible” that a major Chinese player will take a stake of up to 15% in a major Australian bank this decade”.

ANZ Bank would make the most sense, given its super-regional bank strategy. Commonwealth Bank is increasing its presence in Asia but is nowhere as regional as ANZ Bank.

Westpac (a portmanteau of “Western-Pacific”) despite its name, and National Australia Bank both focus on Oz after misadventures abroad.